Constitutional Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival

Edited by Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld

Gathers a group of leading scholars to examine the scope and substance of secularism in constitutional theory

Combines contributors from of different disciplines to offer a wide range of perspectives - legal, political, anthropological, and sociological

Examines the issue at both an abstract theoretical level and a concrete legal and political level

Constitutional Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival

Edited by Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld

Description

The global movement of culture and religion has brought about a serious challenge to traditional constitutional secularism. This challenge comes in the form of a political and institutional struggle against secular constitutionalism, and a two pronged assault on the very legitimacy and viability of the concept. On the one hand, constitutional secularism has been attacked as inherently hostile rather than neutral toward religion; and, on the other hand, constitutional secularism has been criticized as inevitably favouring one religion (or set of religions) over others.

The contributors to this book come from a variety of different disciplines including law, anthropology, history, philosophy and political theory. They provide accounts of, and explanations for, present predicaments; critiques of contemporary institutional, political and cultural arrangements, justifications and practices; and suggestions with a view to overcoming or circumventing several of the seemingly intractable or insurmountable current controversies and deadlocks.

The book is separated in to five parts. Part I provides theoretical perspectives on the present day conflicts between secularism and religion. Part II focuses on the relationship between religion, secularism and the public sphere. Part III examines the nexus between religion, secularism and women's equality. Part IV concentrates on religious perspectives on constraints on, and accommodations of, religion within the precincts of the liberal state. Finally, Part V zeroes in on conflicts between religion and secularism in specific contexts, namely education and freedom of speech.

Constitutional Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival

Edited by Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld

Table of Contents

1: Introduction, Susanna Mancini and Michel RosenfeldPart I: Theoretical Perspectives on the Conflicts between Secularism and Religion 2: Conflicts Between General Laws and Religious Norms, Dieter Grimm 3: The Context of Secularism: A Critical Appraisal of the Post-Secular Argument, Nadia Urbinati 4: The Myth of the Neutral State and the Individualization of Religion: The Relationship Between State and Religion in the Face of Fundamentalism, Karl-Heinz Ladeur 5: Preliminaries to a Concept of Constitutional Secularism, Andras Sajo 6: Recasting Secularism as One Conception of the Good Among Many in a Post-Secular Constitutional Polity, Michel RosenfeldPart II: Religion, Secularism and the Public Square 7: The tempting of Europe, the political seduction of the cross. A Schmittian reading of Christianity and Islam in European constitutionalism, Susanna Mancini 8: On the Secularization of the Public Square: Jews in France and in the United States, Pierre Birnbaum 9: Sovereignty and Laïcité, Michel Troper 10: Egypt's New Constitution: the Islamist Difference, Lama Abu-Odeh 11: The Constitutional Boundaries of Religious Accommodation, Ran Hirschl and Ayelet ShacharPart III: Religion, Secularism and Women's Equality 12: Headscarf v. Burqa: Two French bans with different meanings, Patrick Weil 13: Veiling and Women's Intelligibility, John Borneman 14: Reproductive Rights in a Jewish and Democratic State, Daphne Barak-ErezPart IV: Religious Perspectives and the Liberal State 15: One among many? The Catholic Church between universalism and pluralism, Gustavo Zagrebelsky 16: Religious Marriage in a Liberal State, Gidi Sapir and Daniel Statman 17: Are Secularism and Neutrality Attractive to Religious Minorities? Islamic Discussions Of Western Secularism in the 'Jurisprudence of Muslim Minorities' (Fiqh Al-Aqalliyyat) Discourse, Andrew F. MarchPart V: The Confrontation between Secularism and Religion in Specific Contexts: Education and Free Speech 18: The Ultra-Orthodox Community in Israel and the Right to an Exclusively Religious Education, Gila Stopler 19: Religion and Freedom of Speech: Portraits of Muhammad, Robert Post

Constitutional Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival

Edited by Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld

Author Information

Edited by Susanna Mancini, Professor of Comparative Public Law, University of Bologna Law, and Michel Rosenfeld, Professor of Human Rights and Director, Program on Global and Comparative Constitutional Theory, Yeshiva University

Susanna Mancini is a Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Bologna School of Law and an adjunct professor of international law at the SAIS Johns Hopkins University BC. She is a current visiting profesor at the Central European University (Budapest) and at the B.N. Cardozo School of Law (NYC).

Michel Rosenfeld is the Justice Sydney L. Robbins Professor of Human Rights and director of the Program on Global and Comparative Constitutional Theory at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. He is the co-editor-in-chief of International Journal of Consumer Law and the author or co-editor of numerous books, including Law, Justice, Democracy, and the Clash of Cultures: A Pluralist Account (2010) and most recently with Andras Sajo of the Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law.

Contributors:

Susanna Mancini, The University of Bologna Law SchoolMichel Rosenfeld, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of LawDieter Grimm, Yale Law SchoolNadia Urbinati, Columbia UniversityKarl-Heinz Ladeur, University of CologneAndras Sajo, European Court of Human RightsPierre Birnbaum, University of Paris IMichel Troper, University of Paris X Lama Abu-Odeh, Georgetown LawRan Hirschl, University of TorontoAyelet Shachar, University of TorontoPatrick Weil, University of Paris IJohn Borneman, Princeton UniversityDaphne Barak-Erez, Supreme Court of IsraelGustavo Zagrebelsky, University of TurinGidi Sapir, Bar Ilan UniversityDaniel Statman, University of HaifaAndrew F. March, Yale University.Gila Stopler, Academic Center of Law & Business, IsraelRobert Post, Yale Law School

Constitutional Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival

Edited by Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld

Reviews and Awards

"Constitutional Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival is an interesting and comprehensive book ... In conclusion, one can say that the volume represents a successful polyphonic opera on the essence and fate of secularism." - Valentina Fiorillo, Religion and Human Rights

"Constitutional Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival is an important, interesting, and very stimulating book." - Andrzej Bronk, Anthropos